


I Think I Can Live With That

by Val_Ritz



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M, Sadstuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-04
Updated: 2013-01-04
Packaged: 2017-11-23 14:56:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/623405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Val_Ritz/pseuds/Val_Ritz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The following takes place between the hours of “trolls are hiding on the meteor” and “shit gets fucked up in a big way.” Nepeta breaks down at the growing redrom between Karkat and Terezi. Comforting is STRONGly suggested.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Think I Can Live With That

**Author's Note:**

> Something to christen this new account. It's already been written and posted to Tumblr before this.

The sound of sniffles echoed through the otherwise silent ectobiology lab. Karkat surveyed the situation. The room was scattered with tins of paint and juice boxes, the walls covered with unintelligible olive and red splashes, and the air full of the kind of sobs that come from someone recently and/or currently hysterical.

Eeyup, this was Nepeta.

“Oi. Nepeta, you in here?” he shouted to the room at large. A fresh wave of hacking and crying came from a corner of the room. Karkat approached the area with caution; one could never be too careful when dealing with this sort of thing. “Look, you need to pull yourself together and get out of there. I know you’re in here Nepeta, nobody else drinks these juice boxes.”

A wavering and muffled voice came from behind one of the filing cabinets. “E-equius d-drinks them with me.”

He rolled his eyes. “Besides your huge moirail. You basically count as one fucking person half the time.”

Obviously either his explanation was rather inflammatory or the filing cabinets wept for their mistress, because the crying redoubled. Karkat sighed, looked to make sure nobody was around, and took a third approach. He quietly stepped forward and peered behind the cabinets. Wedged between one and the wall was none other than exactly who he had expected it to be. Nepeta’s head was buried in her arms, and she had managed to curl up exactly out of Karkat’s reach.

“Nepeta. You need to come out from behind these things. Equius is going to have an apoplectic fit pretty soon if you don’t.”

She looked up at him, eyes still threatening to spew green everywhere. “W-what do YOU care? Shouldn’t you be off with your ma-” She choked off the last word, making an admirable segue into more sobbing.

Karkat sighed. Yeah, in retrospect he was fairly certain this would have happened at some point. This little ball of hysteria and heartbreak had been inducted rather abruptly into the details of Karkat’s red love life when she’d walked in on an otherwise spectacular makeout session. She had flipped out and run away crying, Equius had promised swift vengeance as soon as he found her, and Karkat had had to interrupt the current contender for best moment of his life to search for her.

Now, however, he pushed the filing cabinet aside and bent down to pick up the emotional wreck that had once been Nepeta. Immediately she clung to him like… Like… He couldn’t even figure out a good simile for it. All he knew is her arms were around his neck and his shoulder was going to be absolutely soaked and he was basically carrying her like a wiggler back to…where? He hadn’t thought this far. If he brought her back to Equius he would probably have about ten seconds to try and defend himself before his head because composed of 66% fist. Moirallegiance is a powerful thing.

No, thought Karkat, he enjoyed his blood un-punched out of him. Instead he made a course for the room Nepeta had converted into her respiteblock. Luckily she had stopped full-out sobbing, but her face was still solidly locked to his shoulder and her hands balled up in the back of his shirt. It was mostly silent except for his footsteps.

The door to the respiteblock opened when prompted; luckily she hadn’t locked the door. Karkat’s eyes immediately went to the numerous paintings depicting their friends in various states of romantic intrigue. He pretended not to notice that the portrait of Nepeta and him was afforded a place of honor above her recuperacoon.

He set her down gently next to said piece of furniture. It was no small task, considering she was rather adamant in not letting him go. He removed her hat and tugged on the huge coat she always wore. She shrugged it off, moving her arms briefly away from her face. Her eyes were screwed up in an attempt to stop any more tears, and she looked like she might start sobbing at any moment. Karkat left the garments on the floor and picked her up again.

“Shh, you giant pansy,” he murmured softly, lowering her into her recuperacoon. She let go of him and sniffled again, finally looking him square in the eye. He patted her on the head and started to turn to leave.

A small fist grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him around into what was probably the single most unexpected kiss of his entire life, although there had not been many. He flailed for a moment before calming down and riding it out. Truth be told it wasn’t horrible, although his face got pretty wet from the tears. After a few seconds Nepeta released him, a shaky smile on her face.

“I…I always knew it wouldn’t work out,” she whispered, “but I think I can be happy with one kiss.”

Saying no more, she curled up into the recuperacoon, leaving Karkat to stand dumbstruck for a few moments. He shook his head, turned around, and closed the door behind him.

 

From the corner of the room a quiet voice murmured “Oh my. I do believe a towel is in order.”


End file.
